Lieserl
Encyclopedia
Lieserl is the title of the fifth story in Stephen Baxter
's science fiction
anthology Vacuum Diagrams
. It was originally published in Interzone
in 1993 and represents a small, but integral part of the novel, Ring.
has enabled virtual immortality for humans by virtue of the nanotechnological manipulation of the chemical processes that cause cells to die. Liserl's body is engineered by such nanobots but, instead of extending her life, the nanobots cause her to age rapidly. Memories and learning are also implanted into her cortex. The combination of these effects results in Lieserl living the equivalent of 90 year life in 90 days.
Upon her physical death Lieserl's awareness is downloaded into a number of datastores, granting her a supreme consciousness. These datastores are placed within one mouth, or Interface, of a man-made wormhole
which is then suspended within the Sun
. The other Interface of the wormhole is left in orbit around the Sun and the pumping away of superheated gas from the Interface within the sun to the other Interface provides a refrigeration effect enabling the datastores holding Lieserl's consciousness to survive.
Lieserl is told that her existence is just one of many projects initiated by mankind to ensure the survival of the species. Lieserl's task is to study the sun since it appears to be dying, aging more quickly than was to be expected without some exterior influence. The story ends just as Liserl begins in her work without revealing the nature of the threat to the Sun. Nevertheless, the final passages of the story contain a foreshadowing of the dark future facing the universe when Phillida, Lieserl's mother, announces that mankind "can live as long as the stars - for tens of billions of years". The novel, Ring and the short stories Secret History
and The Baryonic Lords, also within the Vacuum Diagrams
collection, tell of the premature aging of stars caused by a dark matter
life-form named photino birds and, as a consequence, the end of baryon
ic life within the universe.
Although the reason for Lieserl's task is an integral part of Stephen Baxter
's Xeelee Sequence
, the majority of the story is devoted to a study of the character, Lieserl, and the pain she suffers as a result of her accelerated existence. The daily loss of innocence prevents her from achieving minor victories against childhood rivals and causes additional frustrations by making the interesting projects of one day, such as exploring the history and mathematics of the game, snakes and ladders
, seem trivial and childlike when she returns to them the day after. Her sexuality is explored, with her puberty passing in a moment and her hopes of romance being dashed as she outgrows a 15 year over the course of a single night. These negative experiences leave Lieserl feeling bitter towards her creators, but nevertheless imprint on her a humanity which ensures her long-term devotion to the project for which she was born and a strong desire to ensure the maintenance of the human race.
.
It has been speculated that the character, Lieserl, is named after Lieserl Einstein, the illegitimate daughter of Albert Einstein
and Mileva Maric
.
Stephen Baxter
Stephen Baxter is a prolific British hard science fiction author. He has degrees in mathematics and engineering.- Writing style :...
's science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
anthology Vacuum Diagrams
Vacuum Diagrams
Vacuum Diagrams is a collection of science fiction short stories written by Stephen Baxter. The collection connects the novels of the Xeelee Sequence and also shows the history of mankind in the Xeelee universe, and ultimately the universe...
. It was originally published in Interzone
Interzone (magazine)
Interzone is an award-winning British fantasy and science fiction magazine. Published since 1982, Interzone is the eighth longest-running science fiction magazine in history and the longest-running British SF magazine...
in 1993 and represents a small, but integral part of the novel, Ring.
Synopsis
Set primarily on Earth in the year A.D. 3951, Liserl documents the title character's life from birth until shortly after her physical death. The story explains how the development of nanobotsNanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
has enabled virtual immortality for humans by virtue of the nanotechnological manipulation of the chemical processes that cause cells to die. Liserl's body is engineered by such nanobots but, instead of extending her life, the nanobots cause her to age rapidly. Memories and learning are also implanted into her cortex. The combination of these effects results in Lieserl living the equivalent of 90 year life in 90 days.
Upon her physical death Lieserl's awareness is downloaded into a number of datastores, granting her a supreme consciousness. These datastores are placed within one mouth, or Interface, of a man-made wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
which is then suspended within the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. The other Interface of the wormhole is left in orbit around the Sun and the pumping away of superheated gas from the Interface within the sun to the other Interface provides a refrigeration effect enabling the datastores holding Lieserl's consciousness to survive.
Lieserl is told that her existence is just one of many projects initiated by mankind to ensure the survival of the species. Lieserl's task is to study the sun since it appears to be dying, aging more quickly than was to be expected without some exterior influence. The story ends just as Liserl begins in her work without revealing the nature of the threat to the Sun. Nevertheless, the final passages of the story contain a foreshadowing of the dark future facing the universe when Phillida, Lieserl's mother, announces that mankind "can live as long as the stars - for tens of billions of years". The novel, Ring and the short stories Secret History
Secret history
A secret history is a revisionist interpretation of either fictional or real history which is claimed to have been deliberately suppressed, forgotten, or ignored by established scholars.-Secret histories of the real world:...
and The Baryonic Lords, also within the Vacuum Diagrams
Vacuum Diagrams
Vacuum Diagrams is a collection of science fiction short stories written by Stephen Baxter. The collection connects the novels of the Xeelee Sequence and also shows the history of mankind in the Xeelee universe, and ultimately the universe...
collection, tell of the premature aging of stars caused by a dark matter
Dark matter
In astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that neither emits nor scatters light or other electromagnetic radiation, and so cannot be directly detected via optical or radio astronomy...
life-form named photino birds and, as a consequence, the end of baryon
Baryon
A baryon is a composite particle made up of three quarks . Baryons and mesons belong to the hadron family, which are the quark-based particles...
ic life within the universe.
Although the reason for Lieserl's task is an integral part of Stephen Baxter
Stephen Baxter
Stephen Baxter is a prolific British hard science fiction author. He has degrees in mathematics and engineering.- Writing style :...
's Xeelee Sequence
Xeelee Sequence
The Xeelee Sequence is a series of novels and short stories by British science fiction author Stephen Baxter. The novels span several billions of years, describing the future expansion of Mankind, its war with its arch-nemesis , and the Xeelee's own war with dark matter entities called photino birds...
, the majority of the story is devoted to a study of the character, Lieserl, and the pain she suffers as a result of her accelerated existence. The daily loss of innocence prevents her from achieving minor victories against childhood rivals and causes additional frustrations by making the interesting projects of one day, such as exploring the history and mathematics of the game, snakes and ladders
Snakes and ladders
Snakes and Ladders is an ancient Indian board game regarded today as a worldwide classic. It is played between two or more players on a game board having numbered, gridded squares. A number of "ladders" and "snakes" are pictured on the board, each connecting two specific board squares...
, seem trivial and childlike when she returns to them the day after. Her sexuality is explored, with her puberty passing in a moment and her hopes of romance being dashed as she outgrows a 15 year over the course of a single night. These negative experiences leave Lieserl feeling bitter towards her creators, but nevertheless imprint on her a humanity which ensures her long-term devotion to the project for which she was born and a strong desire to ensure the maintenance of the human race.
Historical references
The story includes a lengthy discussion of the history and mathematics behind the game of snakes and laddersSnakes and ladders
Snakes and Ladders is an ancient Indian board game regarded today as a worldwide classic. It is played between two or more players on a game board having numbered, gridded squares. A number of "ladders" and "snakes" are pictured on the board, each connecting two specific board squares...
.
It has been speculated that the character, Lieserl, is named after Lieserl Einstein, the illegitimate daughter of Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
and Mileva Maric
Mileva Maric
Mileva Marić was one of the first women to study mathematics and physics in Europe...
.
List of science fiction concepts
- Anti-SenescenceSenescenceSenescence or biological aging is the change in the biology of an organism as it ages after its maturity. Such changes range from those affecting its cells and their function to those affecting the whole organism...
- Dark matterDark matterIn astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that neither emits nor scatters light or other electromagnetic radiation, and so cannot be directly detected via optical or radio astronomy...
- Implanted Education
- Modified life-cycle of the SunSunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
- Man-made wormholes
- Mind transferMind transferWhole brain emulation or mind uploading is the hypothetical process of transferring or copying a conscious mind from a brain to a non-biological substrate by scanning and mapping a biological brain in detail and copying its state into a computer system or another computational device...
- NanotechnologyNanotechnologyNanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
- Virtual realityVirtual realityVirtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...